"The future is not going to be made tomorrow; it is being made today" -- Peter Drucker

Illinois farmers are being challenged to make decisions in a business environment that increasingly is more global, market-driven, and knowledge-based.

To effectively compete in this dynamic environment, a continual stream of innovations will be required to expand the demand for agricultural outputs and to enhance the efficiency of agricultural production.

Indeed, the systems that provide the best access to these innovations could well be the most critical strategic assets in tomorrow's agriculture. But, as renowned management expert Peter Drucker stresses, tomorrow's innovations will result from the actions and decisions taken and made today.

Historically, a major strength of U.S. agriculture has been its research and development system. Given this strength, future competition that is dependent on a vibrant research and development system should bode well for U.S. agriculture.

There is no guarantee, however, that the system that served us well yesterday will be equally effective tomorrow. As a result, we in agriculture should try to learn from the experiences of leading non-farm businesses that have achieved success with research and development systems designed to excel in dynamic and competitive markets.

The idea that technological innovations can redefine markets is not new. The world of business has been dramatically altered over the last two centuries by new technologies such as the steam engine, railroads, electricity, and telecommunications. Similarly the advent of hybrid seeds, mechanization, and chemical pesticides has transformed agriculture.

What is different today is the pace and complexity of change. It's unlikely that it will take decades to adopt, or not to adopt, new technologies such as bioengineered crops and the Internet. Such innovations today are evaluated as much for their social and environmental effects as for their direct economic benefits.

And, in the future, it appears that innovations will come as components of systems that could change the farmer's entire production and marketing system.

A feature of many of today's successful businesses is that they employ research and development systems that take advantage of a business environment where rapid and complex change is the norm. These approaches commonly place an emphasis on speed of development, which forces continual evaluation of potential innovations and an emphasis on disciplined decision-making to maintain a focus on strategic priorities.

Another common characteristic of these businesses is integration across production and marketing systems, with an understanding that learning from actual implementation is part of the research and development process. These approaches also require close linkages with customers and suppliers to anticipate tomorrow's market needs and opportunities.

Soybean farmers and other agricultural decision makers in Illinois anticipated many of these changes when they created the National Soybean Research Laboratory (NSRL) at the University of Illinois. The stated mission of the NSRL is to help expand the size, scope, and profitability of the U.S. Soybean industry. A key element in achieving that mission will be the extent to which the NSRL can assist our current research and development system to more effectively achieve the major characteristics of successful non-farm businesses.

One way the NSRL can play a unique role in enhancing the research and development process serving Illinois agriculture is by developing and implementing tools that will assist market-based prioritization of that process. The NSRL also is committed to promoting effective collaboration across scientific disciplines that are relevant for the agricultural production and marketing system, ranging from biotechnology and genetics to processing and consumer behavior.

In addition, the NSRL can play a major role in providing more effective communications throughout the market channel so that research and development dollars, particularly those invested by producers, can achieve the highest possible return.

Today, the opportunities and challenges facing U.S. agriculture are more exciting than they've ever been in my lifetime. I say this because of three trends under way in the world: global demand growth fueled by an economic and population upsurge, technological innovations that will allow us to better serve market and environmental requirements, and loosening of international trade constraints.

Although these trends offer bright potentials for the future, those potentials are not guaranteed. And, as the introductory quote suggests, our ability to achieve those bright prospects in the future will depend on the decisions and actions that we take today.

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Steve Sonka is director of the National Soybean Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois and holds the Soybean Industry Chair in Agricultural Strategy in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.